MAVZULARGA OID MAQOLALAR
Why Customers Value Self-Designed Products: The Importance of Process Effort and
Enjoyment
Franke Nikolaus; Schreier Martin
JOURNAL OF PRODUCT INNOVATION MANAGEMENT
(Web of Science)
Abstract
This study analyzes which factors prompt customers to attribute
value to products they
design themselves using mass-customization (MC) toolkits. The assumption that self-design
delivers superior customer value is fundamental to the concept of MC toolkits and can be
found in almost any conceptual work in this field. However, spectacular failures reinforce
the practical relevance of developing a deeper understanding of why and when MC toolkits
generate value for customers-and when they do not. Research to
date has assumed that the
closer fit between the self-designed product's characteristics and the preferences of the
customer is the dominant source of value. In this research, it is asked whether the enjoyment
and perceived effort of the self-design process have an additional impact on the perceived
value of self-designed products. This question is interesting because
one could argue that a
rational actor would hardly be willing to pay ex post for an economic good already
consumed. The hypotheses are tested on 186 participants designing their own scarves with
an MC toolkit. After completing the process, they submitted binding bids for "their"
products in Vickrey auctions. Therefore,
real buying behavior, not merely stated intentions,
is observed. The present study finds that the subjective value of a self-designed product (i.e.,
one's bid in the course of the auction) is indeed impacted not only by the preference fit the
customer expects it to deliver but also by (1) the process enjoyment the customer reports,
(2) the interaction of preference fit and process enjoyment, and (3)
the interaction of
preference fit and perceived process effort. In addition to its main effect, preference fit can
be interpreted as a moderator of the value-generating effect of process evaluation: in cases
where the outcome of the process is perceived as positive (high preference fit), the customer
also interprets process effort as
a positive accomplishment, and this positive effect adds
(further) value to the product. It appears that the perception of the self-design process as a
good or bad experience is partly constructed on the basis of the outcome of the process. In
the opposite case (low preference fit), effort creates a negative effect that further reduces the
subjective value of the product. Likewise, process enjoyment is amplified by preference fit,
although enjoyment also
has a significant main effect, which means that regardless of the
outcome, customers attribute higher value to a self-designed product if they enjoy the
process. In a way, this effect resembles of the classic story of Tom Sawyer and the fence, in
which Tom manages to "frame" the tedious chore of whitewashing
a fence as a rare
opportunity-thus persuading his friends to pay him for letting them work. Manufacturers
designing an MC system therefore are advised to designing MC toolkits in a way that they
elicit positive affective reactions that make their customers value their work.
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